Court says no to attorney blame

The 7th Court of Appeals shot down Alfonso Demetrio Rodriguez's attempt to blame his guilty plea on his attorney.

Rodriguez pleaded guilty in 2006 to abandoning a child, kidnapping, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, assault on a public servant and criminal mischief.

The charges stemmed from a 2006 incident in which Rodriguez was riding with another Amarillo man and the man's infant son.

The man left the car for about 10 minutes, and in the time, Rodriguez fled with the car and the man's son.

Rodriguez was later arrested and provided police information about the alley where he had left the child.

According to court records, Rodriguez, 22, argued his trial attorney provided ineffective counsel for several reasons including failure to offer evidence to hopefully reduce the sentence handed down. Rodriguez was sentenced to several decades of prison time, the largest was 99 years for abandoning a child.

Brooks Barfield, who handled Rodriguez' appeal, said he has yet to discuss the ruling with his client.